Sneak Peek: 2004 Consumer Electronics Show

If you're the type of person who loves to go to the big chain electronics store "just to look around," The 2004 Consumer Electronics Show, or CES (as it's called by insiders) would have been your Mecca. This is the show where manufacturers from all over the world come to show off their latest and greatest creations that will be appearing at store near you later in '04.

There was so much stuff to see, you could barely fit it all in the four days of January 8-11. You'd better make sure you had a pair of comfortable shoes if you wanted to see everything. Of course, what would any self-respecting trade show be without the ever-popular booth babes to lure people in to check out the goods ... uh, we mean, products?

While there weren't a ton of classic trucks on the show floor, there were a ton of cool things you could add to your ride to make it sound as good as it looks. Looking to get wired? How about an in-car computer with a touch screen LCD. The computer itself was no bigger than a standard in dash head unit. Think about being able to surf the internet, email you buddy or write a report for work right from the comfort of your truck.

The folks from Blaupunkt were showing off their Chicago IVDM-7002 in-dash DVD/CD/MP3 player with Dolby digital 5.1 surround set up ... all you needed to do is add speakers. Another cool product from Blaupunkt is their super-thin subwoofers. Truck owners can finally get rock solid bass without having to add an extra cab to their vintage ride.

Other notable items from the car stereo line was Polk/Momo and their new line of amplifiers, Monster Cable was showing off some new wires and connectors, and a new line of nitrous tank subwoofers from Bazooka. As a side note, the Bazooka tube is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Hard to believe it's been 20 years since the Bazooka tube revolutionized the audio industry. As a side note to the side note, the Bazooka tube is now the official audio upgrade for the Scion.

There was a really sweet portable DVD player from IconTV that can also be docked in your truck as a flip down screen. In addition to that, IconTV also was showing off their huge HDTV mobile monitor. Just like last year, in car video had a strong show at CES. On the home front, there were some very exciting developments for your viewing pleasure. And there was a whole lot to view on the largest plasma screen at the show. LG showed off their 80" inches of TV fury that you could mount right to your wall. Now don't gather up all your old pop bottles just yet, it won't be ready to ship to your house till later in the year.

Another cool item was the internet-ready microwave oven from Beyond that reads the barcodes off the box and sets the time and temperature for you. All you need to do is press "start." To compliment the oven, there's the Internet ready coffee maker that is connected to a wireless network hub. It's pretty scary when your appliances know more than you do.

It wasn't all business, as CES show played host to a wide variety of celebrities. While wandering the show, we bumped into Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling the former writer from the Howard Stern show. Jackie was out promoting some new gag products for Excalibur. During the four days of CES, we also saw a bevy of live performances over in the Sirius Satellite Radio booth. The Bangles, Joe Jackson and Leann Rimes were just a few of the big names that came out to play a few songs and talk to the DJs. Over in the XM Satellite Radio booth, we spotted the girls from Playboy's Night Calls, signing autographs and posing for pictures.

Speaking of hot girls, there was some awesome scenery to gawk at during CES. It would be safe to say that you were the minority if you DIDN'T have some hot young thang drawing people into your bit of real estate. While there were some new girls to scope out, there were some favorites. The lovely Raquel was at the Visonik booth; the stunning Nicole was signing posters at MA Audio, the always-hot Mary was signing posters in the Kove Audio booth and the super sexy Tyran was wowing the crowd over in the Bazooka booth.

All in all, it was a killer show. And don't worry, you'll be see all of the cool stuff we saw at the show on the shelves of your favorite electronics store really soon. Take a look at this sneal peek, and be on the lookout for full coverage in an upcoming issue of Custom Classic Trucks.